Autumn Leaf Suncatchers – Baby Oil Translucent Paper Method
Craft these gorgeous autumn leaf suncatchers using paper – and the baby oil method of making it translucent! When you’re done, try this fall leaf scratch art craft. This post contains affiliate links.
As I was coloring in these leaf coloring pages, I realized that I must – I mean MUST – turn them into suncatchers. They were so beautiful, with bright pops of color that just had to adorn the house for fall.
I’m thinking of all those glorious and cozy fall holidays, especially Thanksgiving! These are just perfect decorations that anyone can make.
I experimented with different methods of turning the paper translucent on a scrap paper, and found the baby oil method to be the perfect idea. It’s easy, affordable, and hard to get wrong.
I’ll be sharing loads of tips for making these, but meanwhile, you can grab the coloring pages right here!
Tips for making autumn leaf suncatchers
Using baby oil to make paper translucent
I wanted to turn the paper translucent, and I tried a few methods. I found that using dish soap mixed with water made colors run. However, baby oil, due to the nature of oil and water not mixing, really just soaked into the paper and didn’t affect the coloring.
I chose baby oil because I felt like it was very neutral and unlikely to go rancid, unlike food oils. Definitely feel free to try this with other oils!
The trick really worked wonderfully. I used a cotton ball with a clothespin as a brush to really hold enough oil to allow me to sufficiently soak it.
You can also pour the oil onto a plate and place the leaf inside, allowing it to soak in.
The only downside of the baby oil method: it does leave your project slightly greasy! However, it’s baby oil, and not a “dirty” grease, so I’m personally fine with it. It’s not necessarily the best project to store from year to year, but it’s really fun while you’re using it.
Which art supplies can you use to color these?
One of the cool things about using baby oil is that you can really use a number of art supplies, especially water-based ones. Water and oil don’t mix, so scientifically, the oil shouldn’t smudge it. And even alcohol based art supplies, like the Ohuhu markers I used, worked fabulously.
For younger kids, I’d recommend using washable markers or other water-based markers. Again, it does not matter if they are water soluble, as it won’t mix! For wax crayons or oil pastels, I would recommend testing them first. I’d imagine that if you have too thick a surface on the autumn leaf suncatchers, it will prevent the oil from absorbing.
So if you’re using something else, test it first! Just swatch your art supply, dab on (or soak in) baby oil, and see if it works!
Hanging up your autumn leaf suncatchers
One of the biggest challenges when crafting these autumn leaf suncatchers: how do you tack it up if it has a slick surface??!! While we DID dab away as much of the baby oil as possible, some will naturally sit on the surface. I’ll share the fixes that I did myself and some other ideas to play with – to see for yourself if they work.
For starters, I used Duck Brand’s Nano Grab circles. This is a very strong permanent or temporary double-sided tape (the kind with the gel texture). It just barely holds the lightweight leaves with all the grease involved, but it held for the time I tested it.
It’s also translucent, and you can barely see it through. The only caveat is that you might not know if it comes off the window cleanly. I pulled hard to get it off the window, and it did come totally off without leaving residue. I recommend deciding for yourself and testing it, as I offer no guarantees it’ll come off.
Some other ideas for finishing off and hanging your autumn leaf suncatchers:
- You can cut out frames for it using black paper and staple them in place, but it’s a bit of a complex shape, and you’ll want it around the leaf, not backing the leaf, to retain the suncatcher effect.
- You can laminate it or enclose it in clear contact paper. I don’t know how it’ll hold or how well it’ll be preserved. But it’ll be held together around it (even though it won’t adhere to the actual leaf), and you can hang it from the plastic cover.
- Punch a hole and hang it from a string or a suction hook.
These are fabulous to make as a fall craft for the classroom, a library activity, or in art class! Make these to decorate the classroom window or even your sukkah!
How to make autumn leaf suncatchers – step by step
You’ll need
- The leaf coloring pages, printed on regular copy paper, nothing thicker
- Art supplies (see notes above) – I used Ohuhu alcohol markers
- Scissors
- Clothespin
- Cotton ball
- Baby oil (other oils may work – feel free to test them)
- A protective surface
- Paper towels
- Nano-Grab mounting dots Important: I cannot guarantee that this will come cleanly off your window. I tested it on mine on the window, and it came off nicely, but I don’t take responsibility for your use of it!
Watch the video:
Watch the full-length video on YouTube if you prefer to learn that way! Or scroll down for written instructions with photos.
Process
1. Color in your leaves however you’d like! Go fancy or keep it simple.
2. Cut out your leaves. The stem is a bit delicate, so be careful with it!
3. We’re going to be using regular baby oil to make the page translucent. Start by protecting your surface – oil usually stains permanently.
4. Use a clothespin as a handle and insert a cotton ball.
5. Pour some baby oil onto the cotton ball.
6. Start dabbing and painting! You’ll want to cover the whole surface with a layer of baby oil.
7. Let it sit for a few minutes (at least) to absorb into the paper. Then, dab off the excess oil by placing it between two sheets of paper towel and patting off what you can.
8. It’ll still be a bit greasy. See more ideas for finishing it off in the intro to this post if you want alternatives. The best way I found to hang it was using Nano-Grab circles – they’re transparent and they hold the greasy surface, although not extremely strongly. Test it on a surface you don’t mind ruining before using it on a window you care about.
Your autumn leaf suncatchers are complete – aren’t you just thrilled with them?
DIY Autumn Leaf Suncatchers Using Baby Oil
Materials
- The leaf coloring pages, printed on regular copy paper, nothing thicker
- Art supplies (see notes above) - I used Ohuhu alcohol markers
- Scissors
- Clothespin
- Cotton ball
- Baby oil (other oils may work - feel free to test them)
- A protective surface
- Paper towels
- Nano-Grab mounting dots Important: I cannot guarantee that this will come cleanly off your window. I tested it on mine on the window, and it came off nicely, but I don't take responsibility for your use of it!
Instructions
1. Color in your leaves however you'd like! Go fancy or keep it simple.
2. Cut out your leaves. The stem is a bit delicate, so be careful with it!
3. We're going to be using regular baby oil to make the page translucent. Start by protecting your surface - oil usually stains permanently.
4. Use a clothespin as a handle and insert a cotton ball.
5. Pour some baby oil onto the cotton ball.
6. Start dabbing and painting! You'll want to cover the whole surface with a layer of baby oil.
7. Let it sit for a few minutes (at least) to absorb into the paper. Then, dab off the excess oil by placing it between two sheets of paper towel and patting off what you can.
8. It'll still be a bit greasy. See more ideas for finishing it off in the intro to this post if you want alternatives. The best way I found to hang it was using Nano-Grab circles - they're transparent and they hold the greasy surface, although not extremely strongly. Test it on a surface you don't mind ruining before using it on a window you care about.
Your autumn leaf suncatchers are complete - aren't you just thrilled with them?
Notes
I experimented with different methods of turning the paper translucent on a scrap paper, and found the baby oil method to be the perfect idea. It's easy, affordable, and hard to get wrong.
I wanted to turn the paper translucent, and I tried a few methods. I found that using dish soap mixed with water made colors run. However, baby oil, due to the nature of oil and water not mixing, really just soaked into the paper and didn't affect the coloring.
I chose baby oil because I felt like it was very neutral and unlikely to go rancid, unlike food oils. Definitely feel free to try this with other oils!
The trick really worked wonderfully. I used a cotton ball with a clothespin as a brush to really hold enough oil to allow me to sufficiently soak it.
You can also pour the oil onto a plate and place the leaf inside, allowing it to soak in.
The only downside of the baby oil method: it does leave your project slightly greasy! However, it's baby oil, and not a "dirty" grease, so I'm personally fine with it. It's not necessarily the best project to store from year to year, but it's really fun while you're using it.
